Paul Mescal Reveals 'Hamnet's Most Heartbreaking Scene Was Unscripted: "It Whacked Me Straight in the Gut"

5 days ago 12

Will stands outside in front of tents and a tented wagon, looking up.

Summary

Collider's Steve Weintraub talks with Paul Mescal for Hamnet.
In this interview, Mescal discusses his Hollywood status, hosting Saturday Night Live, and what the future holds.
He also shares exciting news about Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics, confirming this master cinematographer's involvement.

Academy Award-nominated Paul Mescal (Aftersun) does not consider himself "an actor in Hollywood," he tells Collider's Steve Weintraub, while sitting down to discuss his most recent film, Hamnet, from co-writer and director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland). This Best Picture contender is celebrating its upcoming UK release on January 9, allowing us the opportunity to chat with the actor about his outstanding career, spanning from Ridley Scott's Gladiator II to his upcoming portrayal of Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' four-part biopic on The Beatles.

Hamnet is a feature adaptation of author and screenplay co-writer Maggie O’Farrell's bestselling novel that tells the story of how William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet came to be. In the movie, a young Will (Mescal) meets and falls in love with Agnes (Jessie Buckley), and the two share a charming life and family together, with Will splitting his time between their country home and London as a playwright. When tragedy falls on their young family, Agnes and Will are left grappling with impossible grief at the loss of their son, Hamnet, and how that pain may have influenced one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

During their conversation, which you can read below, Mescal discusses why he doesn't quite feel like a "Hollywood actor," despite massive blockbuster success. He shares stories from his time growing up in Dublin and discusses why hosting Saturday Night Live was a cathartic experience for him. ("It's definitely the most nervous I've ever been.") As for Hamnet, Mescal talks about working alongside Buckley, "one of the great actors of our time," and how one of the most heart-wrenching scenes wasn't even scripted. Finally, Mescal confirms cinematographer Greig Fraser's involvement in Mendes' Beatles movies, discussing what it's like working with a "real master," and his plans beyond this new year.

Paul Mescal Talks Agency and the Expansion of Hollywood Status

"I don't associate myself with being an actor in Hollywood."

COLLIDER: What do you think would surprise people to learn about being an actor in, quote-unquote, Hollywood?

PAUL MESCAL: I don't associate myself with being an actor in Hollywood, weirdly, because I've never worked here. I've worked in the kind of ecosystem of Hollywood, but actually, I've shot one film in the States, which was privately funded. It was The History of Sound.

Which is quite good.

MESCAL: Thank you very much. Yeah, I love that film. But I suppose the question is about the ecosystem of Hollywood itself, isn’t it?

You obviously started hoping to book roles, and now you're in some really big movies, and you’ve been able to do all these different projects. What has surprised you about making these movies and being an actor in these kinds of projects?

MESCAL: I think the thing that has surprised me is that you have more agency as an actor than you think you do if you know what films you want to make. I've always assumed that there's this kind of runway to being a Hollywood actor, that you have a breakout indie film success, and then you are suddenly in Fast & Furious 12. And it was weird, those things never came my way, actually, because I never really went looking for them.

That's what I mean by the control you have. If you know what you want to make, and you know who you want to work with, it's a wild privilege because you have access. You can set up a meeting with Chloé Zhao in the mountains in Telluride and have a conversation, and that's really exciting, but it also feels like you have agency. Because I was always afraid that the concept of Hollywood takes that agency away, and I'm sure it does for some actors.

But when you don't grow up in the ecosystem of that, like I grew up in Maynooth, it’s not like growing up in London and having actors and the industry around you. I suppose being an actor in London, to me, feels the same as being an actor in Hollywood. I think the world is kind of becoming more globalized, and it feels like you can be a “Hollywood actor,” in inverted commas, kind of anywhere in the world now, which is cool.

Every Paul Mescal Movie, Ranked

He might've been in 'Normal People,' but Paul Mescal is no normal actor.

I did some research. You went to Trinity College in Dublin.

MESCAL: Yes.

I'm sure you spent a lot of time drinking and going to some of the pubs.

MESCAL: Correct.

Which is the one that you want to recommend to people who have never been to Dublin?

MESCAL: We used to go out to a place called Workman's in Dublin, which was a fun place to hang out. I haven't been going out in Dublin an awful lot recently, but back in time. I managed to get wrongfully kicked out of Workman's three times in one night. I was wrongfully removed from the premises three times. And then the last time, I did that pathetic thing of waiting for the bouncer to look away and then tried to go up on all fours up the stairs, and just felt a tap on my shoulder. He was like, “Third time lucky,” and I didn't try it again. [Laughs] That was always a fun place to hang out.

Why does Guinness taste so much better in Dublin?

MESCAL: Because it doesn't travel as far. It’s not transported. I used to live behind the St. James's Gate Brewery. I also didn't like Guinness until about two or three years ago, which is pretty sacrilegious.

It's funny, I have a whole thing where I talk to people about Guinness and Guinness Extra Cold, which I think is bullshit. It should just be Guinness.

MESCAL: That’s so modern, isn’t it? “Guinness Extra Cold.” I bet you in two years’ time, it’s going to be Guinness Extra Extra Cold.

It makes me insane.

Hosting SNL Was "Cathartic" for Paul Mescal

"It felt like it wasn't real."

Paul Mescal hosting Saturday Night Live.

If you could go back in time and play a character again from TV, movies, or on the stage, and be with the people you worked with, what's the thing that you would love to go back to?

MESCAL: I suppose there are so many ways to answer that question. I’m going to answer from a character's perspective rather than experience, because I truly feel incredibly lucky with the experiences that I've had. I don't have the horror story version. I think Connell from Normal People is somebody who I can see is still concurrently living his life somewhere in the world. I would be so curious. I don't think I would want to go back and play anything and repeat something. I would like to see where those characters are now, today. So, I think Connell from Normal People, and see what's going on in his life now.

You got to host SNL.

MESCAL: I did.

Looking back on it now, what was the experience like versus what you thought going in?

MESCAL: Weirdly, the experience of what I thought of going in and the experience of doing it were quite close. I felt like I lived a life in that week. It's quite an amazing feat of endurance that they ask of you. I distinctly remember just ripping cigarettes in the changing room. SNL felt super old-school and fun, just ripping them into the sink, and then having half an hour between the dress.

I'll never forget Lorne Michaels, just as you're saying your goodbye, like, “Thanks for watching,” as you go up on the stage, it gave me chills when he did it. I was walking on the floor, and he shook my hand, and he goes, “You've got 12 seconds, Paul Mescal. It's been a pleasure having you here.” Just chills down the back of my neck. So, it was the most cathartic experience. It felt like it wasn't real, and it also felt the most in my body and out of my body that I've ever felt doing something.

I can't imagine what it's like standing there behind the curtain and you're about to go live. The amount of nerves and energy you must be feeling is a whole other level.

MESCAL: Yeah, it's definitely the most nervous I've ever been, for sure.

I can't imagine.

MESCAL: And I don't think I'm particularly built for it, so I was weirdly very proud to have done it. But also, watching the way the show is orchestrated is like a real feast of economy, just watching how everybody has a minute job, watching how the cast work, and how they are. It feels like a true ensemble, and it's just such a cultural institution. I was so proud that they asked me to do it, and so proud to have done it.

This Heartbreaking ‘Hamnet’ Scene Wasn’t in the Script

"It whacked me straight in the gut."

Jumping into Hamnet. Obviously, the movie is incredible. I'm sure you hear that every single day, but you never know when you're making something how it's going to turn out. At what point did you realize, either during the shoot or after the shoot, “Oh, wait a minute. This could be really special?”

MESCAL: I think when I started rehearsing with Jessie [Buckley], before we started shooting. I’d had read the script, so I was aware that the ceiling for what the film could be, to my mind, was pretty high, tied to your first question, in terms of what you want to make, because it was all of the things that I wanted to make. I wanted to go into the weeds with, I think, one of the great actors of our time and one of the great directors of our time with this material. This was something that I felt could have been, and was, an extraordinary experience.

Then, watching it for the first time in a studio space in London, I was like, “Oh, this is the film that I felt like we were making. This is the film that we made,” which I don't think is often the case. So yeah, it was pretty early days for me.

There's a scene in Hamnet that just wrecked me, and it wrecks the entire audience. It's when Noah [Jupe] is on stage near the end and reaches out, and Jessie grabs his hand. It's so emotional. When you were reading the script, did you realize how that was going to play on screen?

MESCAL: That wasn't in the script.

Really?

MESCAL: That wasn't in the script. That was something that was devised by Chloé and Jessie and him. I think I had a very singular experience of that, because it whacked me straight in the gut, because it felt like the thing that I made, as in Shakespeare made, it felt like the culmination of his heartbreak was in that moment of connection for everybody. I fully got to see that happen for the first time, and I was like, “Oh my God.” This is an actualization of what, I imagine, every writer or every actor, any creative, wants to achieve with the work that they make, even in examining the darker parts of the human condition, that we can find a moment of understanding or connection, in terms of it's not about the character's singular experience, it's about the singular experience of the character reflecting what is happening in the world to everybody. And even if you haven't directly lost a child or something, unfortunately, we don't have the capacity to hide from the claws of death. It gets to us one way or another.

An overhead shot of the Hamlet actor reaching out to the crowd from the stage.

What's it like as an actor to watch something with a big audience or at a premiere and have an entire audience sobbing from your work? That scene is just so powerful, and I just can't imagine what it's like.

MESCAL: It feels incredibly gratifying. Weirdly, I wasn't immune to it. When you're in a communal space, that dictates the feeling. It's not necessarily what's just happening on screen; it is the communal agreement to go, “Oh, we feel safe enough in this space with total strangers to express something.” And I think that the world and the theater-going audience are looking for something to open up a door to express something.

You look at the films this year or last year. I think because of what the world's gone through, we've gone through COVID, there is a desire for people to, even if it's not about the thing that's going on in their life, they're looking for an avenue in which they can feel safe to express heartache. And it's all rooted in love. I think this film isn't attempting to break people's hearts. It's actually attempting to reflect the world that we live in. And of course, the world that we live in is oftentimes heartbreaking as much as it is full of love.

Oh, absolutely.

Greig Fraser Will Film Sam Mendes' Four-Part Beatles Biopic

Mescal discusses working with the "master" cinematographer.

Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn as The Beatles

So, this is a joke. This is a Beatles question. I'm curious, with you and Saoirse [Ronan] playing Paul and Linda McCartney, is there any truth to the rumors that the Beatles movies are a huge four-part sequel to Foe?

MESCAL: [Laughs] Damn, you've caught us straight out the gate. No. That would be fucking wild. It's a four-part, well-veiled, until this moment, hidden… Yeah, it's definitely a sequel. It's a four-part sequel to Foe. You heard it here first.

Being serious, I am a huge fan of Greig Fraser.

MESCAL: Oh my God, me too.

I love his work. It's crazy because a lot of people don't realize that he could have shot Batman, he could have shot Dune, he might have been able to shoot both, but instead he chose to do The Beatles movies.

MESCAL: Yes.

Can you talk a little bit about working with him? He’s so talented.

MESCAL: I think he's a real master. Watching him and Sam [Mendes] building the land, because it's a real undertaking, what Greig is going on, and what Sam is going on, in terms of building a visual language that is singular to each of the films, but also singular to the anthology of films that we're making. It requires a real mastery of the craft, and he is brilliant with actors. He's extraordinary with lighting. He lights things over the weekend, so we get in there, and the set moves so fast. We're not waiting for him to light. He's a real artist. He's not fixed. He's like, “best idea wins,” and oftentimes he's super malleable.

He's just incredibly artistic and generous with what he is willing to share. I'm really curious about the work behind the camera and watching him, and I'm able to have conversations that I'm sure are super basic for him, but he shares his knowledge with me. Because I think it's important as actors that you invest in the time and the creativity that's not just in your own head, but with the creatives, and what's going on around you from other departments.

You're making multiple movies. Are you shooting each day different things from different movies, or are you shooting one movie now, then another movie?

MESCAL: It's pretty consistent in terms of the worlds, but it jumps around a little bit. But we are kind of focusing on certain films in blocks.

Is each one going to look a little bit different?

MESCAL: You’ll have to wait and see.

Paul Mescal Returns to the Stage

"It's just knowing yourself."

I read that you are returning to the stage in 2027.

MESCAL: Yeah.

You're going to do A Whistle in the Dark and Death of a Salesman.

MESCAL: Yeah.

What is it like committing to projects like those this early on? How is it, as an actor, wrapping your head around Death of a Salesman? You’re getting ready for those projects, but you can't really get ready for those projects because you're in the middle of Beatles land.

MESCAL: Well, the rehearsal process for that requires planning because those rehearsals won't start until April of 2027. I’ll have four or five months dedicated to just working on those plays before we even go into the rehearsal room.

It's also about knowing yourself as an artist, as an actor. I love the films that I’ve made, but I find it very difficult to spend, often, as much time talking about the process of making it, which is like these press stories, which are so vital to the success of the film, but they feel like they take up a lot of energy for me, personally. Whereas, once this tour of discussing Hamnet finishes, I don't have to talk about making. I can just go off and make for two years. And then talk about making the Beatles in 2028. It's just knowing yourself. It's like, I know that this is an integral part of my job, but it is taxing, and I'm looking forward to disappearing into just making and not talking about what it was to make it, and talking about all of those things for a little bit, and also just to give people a little break from seeing my face everywhere.

It's funny because I have a lot of actor friends and they all tell me, “I don't get paid to make a movie, I get paid to promote the movie.”

MESCAL: I don't know if that's even true either.

Well, you know what I mean.

MESCAL: Because I also think I've had some of the most creatively satisfying conversations. If you have a good interviewer and they've considered what they want to ask, rather than like, “Did you read the book before you started filming?” I'm just like, “Fucking hell.” So, I think both things are true. I've had days on set that have felt like really fucking hard work, and I’ve had days in a press junket that seem like really hard work. But then I've had versions of both where it just feels like not a choice, but a vocation, which is an amazing thing.

Hamnet is in theaters now.